Nigeria Pledges To Destroy Boko Haram by April as Violence Intensifies

Nigeria's National Security Advisor announced that all of Boko Haram's camps in Nigeria will be destroyed before the country's general election, as the group launched fresh attacks on Niger and Cameroon.

 
Nigeria's National Security Advisor Sambo Dasuki vowed to wipe out "all known Boko Haram camps" before the March 28 general election is scheduled to take place, adding that elections would not be postponed. "Those dates will not be shifted again," Dasuki announced. On Saturday, Nigeria's election officials pushed the country's general election back six weeks after the advisor's requests for a delay to resolve the security situation.

Boko Haram Intensifies Assault on Niger, Cameroon

Boko Haram forces attacked northern Cameroon on Monday, kidnapping more 30 people, including over 20 when the group's fighters captured a bus. Another group of fighters attacked the town of Kolofata, stealing food and livestock from the residents. The attacks took place about 150 kilometers south of Fokotol, where Chadian and Cameroonian forces have been massing in a stalled offensive.

In Diffa, Niger's embattled border town, Boko Haram struck again, this time using a car bomb to attack a local market, killing scores of civilians.

"Everything blew up I saw bodies everywhere," a merchant told AFP.

Earlier in the day, Boko Haram attacked a prison near the town, but the attack failed.

"The attack was repelled. Clean-up operations have been under way since this morning," a soldier participating in the operation told Reuters. According to AFP, soldiers have now surrounded the town.

Monday's attack, the third in four days, comes as legislators in Niger are set to ratify an agreement which would allow the country to participate in the multinational offensive against Boko Haram.